Tag: challenge

“For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’But wisdom is proved right by all her children” (Luke 7:33-35).

Last night, my wife and I were talking about the religious leaders in the Gospels. She asked me, “How could they have had any doubts whatsoever concerning whether or not Jesus was who He said He was. With all the miracles He had done, the prophecies He had foretold, the things that He knew about that were done in secret, how could they not see?”

I looked at her and said, “I KNOW RIGHT!!!” The fact of the matter is people make themselves blind to truths that they do not want to or are not yet ready to accept. The Jewish leaders of that day were not looking for Jesus to be their Messiah. They were looking for an immediate deliverer and conqueror that would rescue them from Rome.

This is indeed what they received, they just did not understand that Jesus was rescuing them from something far more important than what they wanted deliverance from. The Jews in that day were looking for deliverance from Rome, but Jesus gave them deliverance from themselves. Jesus, in sacrificing Himself, rescued them from the bondage that their sin kept them in. If they thought the years that they served under the empire of Rome was bad, Hell is a lot worse. They received a Messiah greater than what they could have imagined. The only problem is, they did not accept the fact that they were unclean and they weren’t going to let Jesus tell them they were.

This is the problem with thinking highly of oneself. If you do not see a fault in what you are doing, you will not be willing to change your ways. The religious leaders did not want what Jesus was offering because they did not feel like they needed it. Moreover, the religious leaders enjoyed their roles within the church. They liked being thought highly of, setting the rules, wearing fancy robes and praying out loud for people to see how spiritual they were. Jesus condemned all of their actions and because they were not humble, they blinded themselves to the truth. How do we know this? In the verse I quoted above, Jesus states that the religious leaders thought John the baptist had a demon because he did not come eating bread and drinking wine, but Jesus came eating and drinking and they say He is a glutton and a drunkard. They were trying to remain blissfully ignorant because they refused to accept the truth.

It was clear as day who Jesus was, just like it is clear as day that there is a creator but many atheists just like the Pharisees, do not want to accept this truth. Instead, they offer flawed self-defeating arguments in an attempt to disprove God, just like the Pharisees. When those arguments do not work out for them they move to moral and philosophical arguments which neither prove or disprove the existence of a God. Today we deal with people who blind themselves willingly from the truth.

Jesus says, “wisdom is proved by all her children.” In order to be counted as wise one must exhibit humility. The ability to humble oneself leads to the acceptance of correction, putting others first, being quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath and a healthy fear of God. When someone displays these attributes they come to the understanding that there is a creator and that Jesus is the savior. When these conclusions are drawn, you prove that there is a source of wisdom. Without a creator, wisdom is just a concept of wishful thinking. How can anything be intelligent if there is no creator who defines what intelligence is?

Jesus, before He returns is already a conqueror! He conquered death and the grave so that it would no longer have a hold on us. He conquered sin so that it would no longer define us. He conquered the law so we would no longer be judged by it. He is a conqueror with an everlasting kingdom that will never fall and I accept this conqueror. I accept Him as my Lord and savior because He is the only one with the power to set me free from the shackles of sin. I choose to spread His truth and follow His instruction because it brings forth life, life everlasting!

At times we can feel a sense of voidness, so we may seek to fill that void space inside of us. As followers of Christ we must not seek the things of this world to quench and satisfy our needs. John speaks on the love of the world in 1 John 2:15-17 saying,

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

After all, this world will leave us empty, dissatisfied and broken. Look to Jesus for any and every need because He is our Great Provider, and is the only one who can truly fulfill our every need. Only in Him will we find true contentment and joy. We want to be able to say …

“I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:12-13

I wrote this a little while back for my wonderful sister in Christ Lene and really wanted to share it with the folks that follow me. Be sure to give Lene a visit because she has wonderful material, she’s super encouraging especially on the subject of waiting for marriage and she helped me out tremendously 🙂

The Someone

I miss a few people but my mind is eased and the desire to have them close to me fades when I think about the fact that the three people were all followers of Christ and God fearing individuals. The first of the three is my aunt Volita whom we called Dita. I wrote her on day 15 of this 30 day blog challenge, significant childhood memories. The second of the three is my grandmother. I wish I would have spent more time with her before she passed away. I feel like in comparison to a lot of my other family members I didn’t have as close of a relationship with her and it makes me sad at times. Lastly I miss my great grandmother. I don’t remember her very well because she passed away while I was young but one thing I do miss is the unity she brought to my family. She solved every problem with God and made sure all of us were keeping up with the Lord. After she passed away all hell broke loose so to speak. The unity ceased, rivalries broke out and God became a bit of a distant memory.

The something

Sometimes I find myself missing the days of innocent ignorance. The days when I didn’t know about all of the troubles of this world. The days when my most difficult decision was which flavor candy I wanted to by. Today when one looks at the condition of the world it is easy to conclude that all hope is lost haha. The government is corrupt, no matter who we vote for they are all in cahoots and have the same motives. Schools have an agenda and that agenda is to poison the minds, confuse and mislead the youth under the guise of fairness, equality and truth. But if one pays attention it is easy to see the deception and that these people are all wolves in sheeps clothing. Knowing all of this worries me at times because I fear for my children and grandchildren.

But there is one thing greater than the pain the I experience when I find myself missing my loved ones. There is some one greater than all of the anxiety I get when thinking about the future of my descendants. There is one thing covering myself and my family that will not allow the duplicity of Satan to trap us within his web of confusion, lies and sin.

God is greater! Great enough to part the red sea, calm a storm and walk on raging waters. Great enough to heal the sick give sight to the blind and drive out demons. Great enough to form the universe with nothing but his words. Greater than the pain I feel when I’m hurting and the fear that overwhelms me when I worry. Greater than the the stronghold that this world has over my family. God is greater than the possibility of a negative outcome. When my chances of succeeding are slim to none God is the variable that catapults me beyond prosperity. Jesus provides peace when chaos ensues and a way when the world minimizes my options.

With confidence I look forward to the future knowing that myself and my family are all in the hands of our wonderful creator! God has the world in His hands, my relatives in His presence and my future under His provision.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10)

Do you have something or someone you miss? Leave a comment below telling me about it or them! I cant wait to hear about it 🙂

If you aren’t already following this amazing blogger you aught to be because post after post he delivers. He delivers a great message, tells a great story, explains biblical texts, and flat out preaches. Check out this post and give him a follow it is so worth it!

Range

This is a drawing I drew of myself as a super hero a few years ago. The super hero name I chose was Range and I had the ability to manipulate all aspects of time and morph into a big black lion.

That was my dream power back then, but what is my dream power today???

It wouldn’t be far fetched to say we are like super hero’s today. We rescue ourselves and others from spiritual damnation by leading people to the kingdom, praying for others and even encouraging our brothers and sisters. Just because we can not see the danger someone is in doesn’t mean there is no threat.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood” indicates that the war that we are engaged in is not a physical battle against ourselves or man. Falling to sin is not simply a matter of making a mistake and displeasing God.

“…but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” This refers to the devil and his angels (the angels that rebelled with him). Each time you fall to sin you give into temptation that they set before you. Every day that goes by you have one of these fallen angels watching you and stalking your every move, implementing every strategy they can in order to keep you from following the will of God. When you undergo spiritual growth and grow closer to God something physically changes about you in the spiritual realm. This is why the moment you begin to get on fire for God, bad things begin to happen or distractions increase ten fold. For this reason it is important to stay close to God and dawn the full armor of God that is referred to in scripture.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:11).

When you allow distractions to prevail and sin to overtake you, you wave your white flag and say to a demon, “you win, do with me as you please.” So fight for God and for your spirit, don’t let a fallen angel who has lost their grace and beauty keep you from obtaining your glorified body and inherited kingdom. Don’t give in to Satan’s temptation, he and his followers know how this story ends and they are not happy about it. They are all being thrown into the lake of fire and are looking to bring as many people with them as possible. It is all they exist for because there doesn’t seem to be any implications in scripture that they have the option to repent and even if they did, would they? They were able to dwell in the presence of the almighty God, witness His glory in its fullness and still rebel against Him. This was the ultimate evil as there was no temptation at this time. Therefore these beings in rebelling against God became the embodiment and epitome of evil.

If I could have a super power today it would be to go into the spiritual realm and be able to see the unseen. While there, I would dawn the full armor of God and combat these demons that have strongholds over potential believers.

THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME WOULDN’T IT ?!?!?!

Lol I am such a geek! Anyway if you could have any super power in the world what would it be and why? Also what would your super hero name be? Leave a comment below telling me all about your alter ego hahaha.

There is no greater passion in my life than the passion I have for God. All I want to do is spread the truth! I want to tell the world about our amazing creator, evangelize, and strengthen the christian community. I’m passionate about building a family that I can ascend to heaven with. I want to expand the kingdom of God and represent my Father in heaven the way he aught to be represented. I want to shift the taste in peoples mouths so that when they hear the word christian they don’t immediately get a sour taste across their tongue. I want people to know and love Jesus the way I have come to know and love Him. With great zeal I learn about Him, write blogs, worship and have fellowship with fellow believers. My desire is to save as many people as possible from eternal torment.

I do not seek to be famous whatsoever, only to make my Lord and Savior famous. I want to bring notice to the one and only celebrity. The root word for celebrity is celebrate, therefore those we regard as celebrities are people we deem to be worthy to be celebrated. The word celebrity has such a negative connotation to it because we use it on common people who do not deserve to be celebrated. Jesus should be the One and Only celebrity! God alone is worthy to be praised, His death and Resurrection is a cause for celebration! His love, grace and desire to save us from a place that was created to punish powerful beings who used to be regarded as angels is a reason to fall to our knees in tears of joy and worship Him.

The King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Creator of all things, The Embodiment of Good, The Savior, The Messiah, The Christ, The Healer, The Provider, The Comforter, The Way, The Truth, The light, The Source of everlasting life, The One and Only Living God, Jesus Is what I am passionate about.

I NEVER LIKED SCHOOL GROWING UP!!!

It was everything I hated about life, Waking up early, having to go to bed early, learning about boring subjects, being around strange cruel people, no phones, no hats, no freedom. School felt like kid prison, but only for 7-8 hours. Everything about was horrible to me.

As I have said in previous posts I wasn’t the most popular kid in school growing up. Thankfully this would turn out to be a blessing. As a child it made me feel like a loser, but as I got older I realized the smaller your circle of friends the less drama you have in your life.

Once I got to college, school became a lot more pleasant because with college you get freedom, you get independence, you can wear hats, use your phones and go to the bathroom without a pass lol.

But all jokes aside I enjoyed college a lot in my first semester. When I got to my second and third semester things changed and it was a steady moral decline from there. I began to see that the world around me is much darker and different than the little world I’m used to living in. I realized in the real world a lot of people don’t believe in God and actually despise the idea of a God.

I went to school for nursing so I took a lot of science based classes. A number of my science professors would teach as though science has it all figured out and would take jabs at religion. This combined with the fact that the profession I am entering into is underpaid and overworked made me rethink college all together. Basically to be a nurse I’d have to get my bachelors degree and spend several years of my life working to pay off student loans. Needless to say as time went on I lost more and more interest in school and the nursing field.

With that being said my new goal is to attend a theology school learn more about God and His word and become an evangelist. This should give me a whole new feel of what school is like.

I actually didn’t draw this today I drew this on the day this blog challenge was supposed to be written.

It is a Yak and I drew it because my sister in law asked for the relatives and in laws to draw a picture to represent a letter in the alphabet for a book that she is making for her precious one year old son. (that was a mouthful hahaha)

I had a hard time picking something for Y. I initially decided to do Yahweh (The Hebrew name for God) but then I thought wait how can I draw God. Then I chose Yahshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) but thought wait I don’t really know how to draw an accurate depiction of Jesus so that wont work. Then my wife suggested a Yak and a verse from Matthew 11:28-30, “28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.””

This is an important and key passage that everyone should understand because it pertains to salvation.

The what?

Jesus calls everyonewho is weary or burdened not just Jews or Isrialites. When He does this He is addressing the problem that everyone has and offers a solution to the world (this is the what) .

The who and where?

Then Jesus says to come to Him that He may give you rest. When He does this He reveals the source and direction to rest and salvation (the who and the where).

The how?

Then Jesus reveals the how by stating “Take my yoke upon you” in other words deny yourself and let me (Jesus) take control of your life.

The why?

Lastly Jesus says, “For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” This is Jesus revealing the why.

The when?

It is important to note that there is no when in this passage. Jesus never forced anyone to follow Him nor will He ever. He gives us a choice, He gives us an offer we can not refuse and all we have to do is accept it. It is completely up to us when we decide to actually do it. The sooner the better of course haha!

I’ve been blessed to know Jesus all my life and am thankful to have a wife that strengthens and inspires me everyday to move forward with Christ. Hopefully my Yak can inspire the baby haha. If you feel like sharing, I’d like to know when you got saved. How old were you and what brought you to Christ?

Until the next post family, Don’t forget to frog it (fully rely on God)